Valve



Jan. 4, 1955 M. D. MCSHURLEY El AL 2,698,630

VALVE Filed April 19, 1951 IN I 'E.'\'TOR$ Mrs/349a 17. M59024 :r 0004406 Mad/76) United States Patent VALVE Marshall D. McShurley, Daleville,and Donald G. Mahoney, Muncie, Ind., assignors to General MotorsCorporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application April19, 1951, Serial No. 221,903

2 Claims. (Cl. 137-312) This invention relates to valves and valveassemblies and is particularly concerned with valving mechanism for usewith molten material, such as molten lead and lead alloys.

The basic object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a cut-onvalve which may be used in a molten lead supply line for controlling theflow of lead or lead alloy therethrough.

in carrying out the above object, it is a further object to provide arotatable cut-otf valve of the packless type.

A still further ob ect of the invention is to provide an annular duct inthe valve plug which communicates with the outlet of the valve, saidduct collecting any leakage through the plug and conducting said leakageinto the outlet of the valve.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valve combination foruse in connection with molten materials wherein a chill band is providedat the supply side thereof and wherein the valve mechanism per se isremovable from the supply means whereby the valve mechanism may beremoved when the chill band is in operation without draining the moltenmaterial from the supply means.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing, wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention areclearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a valve and chill band combination.

Fig. 2 is a view in section through the valve.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view on an enlarged scale taken onthe line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the chill band taken on the line 55 ofFig. 1.

Many problems arise in the control of the flow of molten materials,particularly such materials as molten metal, for example, lead and leadalloys. These materials, due to their weight and temperature, have astrong eroding effect on valve mechanisms and further, it is difficultto seal valving mechanisms due to the great weight of the materialpassing therethrough. It is apparent that packing and similarexpedients, used in connection with water valves and the like, cannot beused where molten materials are involved since said packing would burnout very quickly due to the high temperature that the valve attains.

Our invention is therefore directed to a packless type, verticallydisposed valve wherein the plug member includes an annular duct at theupper end thereof which collects leakage around the valve plug and whichcommunicates with the outlet of the valve whereby said leakage isbrought back into the supply system.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, a valve combination is shown at 20which includes an annular tubular member 22 terminating in a flange 24which is connected by screws to a mating flange 26 carried by a bodymember 28. The outlet of the valve is shown at 30 whereas the inlet isdepicted at 32 which is formed by an extension of the member 22 andwhich includes a chill band 34 therearound. The outlet 30 is at thelower end of a longitudinal bore 35 within the plug 36 of the valve. Thevalve 20 is operated to on and off positions by means of a handle 38which grips the plug 36 adjacent the lower end thereof and turns thesame. A second handle 40 is provided around an adjustable packing nut 29which ice is threadedly connected to the body member 28. The nut 29,through the attached handle in, may he held m fixed position while thehandle 38 is manipulated to turn the valve on and off. The body member26 has an aperture 45 in its upper truncated conical surface whichcommunicates with a mating aperture 46 in the plug 36. Adjacent thepacking nut 29, the plug has an annular flange 52 which acts as a thrustbearing against the nut 29 when the valve is in assembled POSlLlOIl asshown in Fig. 2. The upper end of the plug 36 has a truncated conicalsurface :4 which is ground into a mating surface 55 on the valve bodyportion. The plug 36 is a snug fit within the bore 56 of the valve body28 but is not so snug as to bind when the two portions attaintemperature. In this connection, it is desirable to fabricate the plug36 from one material, such as nickel cast iron and the body from anothermaterial, such as silchrom steel. lt will be noted that around the upperend of the plug 36 and at the base of its upper, truncated conicalsurface 54, there is an annular groove having a V-shaped cross sectionat 60. This groove 60, as noted in Fig. 4, has three radially extendingapertures 62, 64 and 66 thereon which connect with the base thereof tothe longitudinal bore 35 through the plug. Thus when any leakage occursalong the ground surfaces 54 and 55, material is forced by gravity intothe groove 60 and then passes through the apertures 62, 64, 66 and intothe bore 35, thence into the outlet 30. In this manner leakage iseliminated.

It will be noted that the flange 52 is of less dimension than theclearance between the nut 29 and the body portion 28. This clearance isprovided so that the nut 29 can be drawn up to force the mating surfaces54 and 55 into close contact with one another and wherein the entirebearing of the valve plug is on the thrust surface between the flange 52and the nut 29. This reduces friction and makes it possible to easilyoperate the valve through handle 38. The handle 40 includes an indicator41 thereon which may be set according to indicia not shown on the flange26. In this manner it is a simple matter to reestablish the desiredadjustment in the event that the nut 29 has been removed for any cause.

In this connection, when the valve becomes fouled or commences to leak,due to excessive erosion or other cause, it is possible to remove theentire valve by removal of the screws associating flanges 26 and 24 toone another. Removal of the nut 29 permits disassembly of the valvebarrel from its body. Thus the plug 36 may be removed from the body 28.In order to permit such removal and disassembly without discontinuingthe lead line functions which the valve controls and which, in manyinstances, include a plurality of outlets, a chill band 34 is providedaround the inlet 32. This chill band 34 is shown in detailed crosssection in Fig. 5 with arrows indicating the direction of water flow.When it is desired to remove the valve mechanism per se, water iscirculated through the band 34 until the lead in the inlet 32 is frozen.At this time, and while the water remains in circulation, the valve maybe removed, repaired and/or replaced. In order to prevent the frozenslug of lead from shifting in the inlet 32, a pin 65 is provided whichholds the slug stationary within the inlet.

After the valve mechanism has been reassembled and the system is readyfor further operation, the water circulation is stopped in the chillband 34 and blast burners are turned on to heat inlet 32 sufiiciently tomelt the slug of frozen material whereupon the entire operation may bereestablished.

Valves of this character are used in a number of applications, one ofwhich is shown in our copending application Serial No. 221,902, filedconcurrently herewith. In this case, the valves are operatedautomatically by magnetic or mechanical means which are timed to movethe handle 38 backward and forward to open and close the valve incoordination with other functions, for example, in the molding machines.

It is manifest from the description that we have provided a rugged valvemechanism which is packless and which is leak-free due to the annulargroove at the upper end of the barrel, which valve mechanism incombination with the chill band, presents a control assembly that may beutilized in connection with pipe lines containing molten materials. Thevalve is easily adjusted for wear through the nut 29 to keep the same inworking condition without leaks.

While the embodiments of the present invention as herein disclosed,constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A lead valve assembly to control the flow of lead in a molten leadsupply line, the combination comprising; an elongate, verticallydisposed, tubular body member having a flange adjacent the lower endthereof and adapted to connect into a supply line, a second flanged bodymember which includes an internal bore therethrough wherein the flangeis disposed adjacent the center of said member, the outer diameter ofsaid second body member being such that it may be inserted into thefirst mentioned tubular body member and sealed thereto by means of saidflanges which, when in assembled position, abut one another, alongitudinally bored plug adapted to fit into the bore of the secondbody member, said plug having a tapered upper end which seats tightlyinto a tapered bore portion of the second mentioned body member, saidsecond body member and said plug each having an aperture therethroughadjacent the tapered portions thereof, which apertures register in oneposition to permit lead to flow therethrough, said plug including anannular groove adjacent the lower end of the tapered portion thereofwhich is connected by means of a duct with the plug bore whereby anylead which leaks past the tapered portion of the plug may be broughtback into the plug bore, means for turning the plug for controlling theflow of lead through said apertures and a packing gland for holding theplug in place within the second body member, said gland acting as athrust bearing at one surface only thereof for said plug.

2. A cut-off valve for use in the control of flow of heavy moltenmaterials, comprising in combination; a vertically disposed body member,an inlet port therethrough adjacent the upper end thereof, a rotatableplug member adapted to fit within said body member and having alongitudinal outlet bore therethrough, a tapered nose portion on saidplug adapted to fit closely into a complementary portion in said bodymember, an inlet port at the tapered portion of said plug adapted toregister with the body inlet port in one position of rotation of theplug, said plug including an annular groove at the base of the taperedportion thereof, which groove communicates through a duct with the plugbore whereby leakage past the tapered portion of the plug is trappedinto the groove and returned through said duct to the plug bore, meansfor turning the plug into a non-registering position with the inlet portof said body, and a gland adapted to urge the plug into the body memberand act as a thrust bearing for said plug member.

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